The Way it Should Be
by Duskwraithe
Summary: Slash: Sam's wedding is days away, and Frodo can't imagine why he's so upset about this...


Disclaimer: *sarcasm* I own everything. I am a rich person because of it, so as you can see I spend all my time writing slash fan fiction about it. Isn't that what you'd do?

Warnings: Slash, kind of AU, songfic.

Canon: Book. I don't write exactly Tolkien-style because if I did I'd bore you to tears, so don't diss me if it's not like the books.

Song: "I Do Cherish You" by 98 Degrees, and I changed things around a tiny bit to make it work.

Thanks and Dedication: Kiala for the idea, and my Frodo and Sam mousepad for the inspiration and allowing me stay true to them in the dialogue. It's hard to type in this straightjacket... must escape soon.

Notes: Attack of the plot bunnies! I've already got about 10 stories that need finishing (and one or two that need starting!) And I have to start writing this huge theology paper that's due in a few days! I tried to make this cheerful but failed at first... sorry, guys; the whole thing's not like this. Next time I go to see ROTK (it'll be the 4th time) I'm going to write down how many noises Frodo makes; it's got to be at least 40. Or has someone done it already? I'd be interested to know... 

In my world before you

I lived outside my emotions

Didn't know where I was going

'Til that day I found you

How you opened my life to a new paradise

In a world torn by change

Still with all my heart

'Til my dying day...

Sam. My dear Sam, you've been there with me in everything that I did for better or for worse, for as long as I can remember. And now, you won't be there.

Oh, you'll still "be there". I told you that you and Rosie could move in with me. How could I not? What would I do, all alone in Bag End, and quite without my Sam to come and visit all the time? But it won't be the same. Oh, no.

I never really approved of her. She's all smile and no character to speak of. But if she could make you happy, then I wish you luck. Sometimes I wonder if she really could. I think you loved her before we left, and when we came back you planned to fulfill your dream without a thought about changes you might have undergone. And yet, something happened on our journey, and we became more than just a gardener and employer. It certainly changed me, but you...

And now you're getting married to her. Oh, why hadn't I said something before? Why do I always wait until it is too late? I help you with the preparations with a heart full of regret and sorrow. I'll miss you, Sam; more than I ever thought I could. I'll see you every day, your presence will haunt me every waking minute and I'll know that I failed. I'm not sure what I failed at, but it haunts me and will not let me go.

__

All I am, all I'll be

Everything in this world

All that I'll ever need

Is in your eyes

Shining at me

When you smile I can feel

All my passion unfolding

Your hand brushes mine

And a thousand sensations

Seduce me because I...

"Mr. Frodo?"

I started and shut my journal with a _bang_. If he'd seen any of it..! "Hullo, Sam."

He sat next to me on the grass. "I've been wanting to have a talk with you, if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't, Sam. What is it?"

"I'm getting nervous. That is, about the wedding."

"I suppose everyone's nervous before they marry."

"Well... I'm just not sure. It's so much worse than that, do you know what I mean? A prettier lass I couldn't find, and yet..."

I was becoming lightheaded and felt uncharacteristically silly. "Out with it, Sam. Would you have preferred the Watcher? I can arrange something on my next visit to Moria, though you two may have some difficulty finding a suitable place to wear the wedding ring."

For the first time in weeks, he laughed; and I dared to look up at him. The Sun was sinking lower into the West, scattering diamonds across the river's surface that reflected in swirls upon his face. The sun lit up his eyes and hair, and his face was happy with the pleasant smile that always accompanied that special laugh of his.

He was beautiful.

Had I never noticed? In all the years that I'd known him, it never occurred to me that although he seemed a simple gardener, he was so much more beautiful and wonderful than any elf! I suddenly recognised a feeling unfamiliar and yet one I'd felt all along. From that moment, I knew that I loved him.

__

I do cherish you

For the rest of my life

You don't have to think twice

I will love you still

From the depths of my soul

It's beyond my control

I've waited so long

To say this to you

If you're asking do I love you this much

I do

The world seemed to stop, and all of time seemed to freeze as our eyes locked. Without thinking, without even being able to think, I leant closer, and it felt as if he leaned in closer as well, and we were inches away from I know not what.

I suddenly pulled back. How could I have done that, just kiss him right out of the blue? If Rose had seen she would have had a fit. No, he was not mine to do whatever I felt like doing to him, he was hers. My eyes burned and I shut them against the glare from the sparkling river.

"Frodo?"

I kept them shut. "Yes, Sam?"

"Do you think it would be so awful of me to sort of... cancel the wedding?"

My heart leapt, and this time I allowed it to. "Why would you do that, Sam? You have a future that you could spend with her, and live for another sixty years and have thirteen little hobbit-children..." A rogue tear slid down my cheek, and I wiped it away hastily.

"That future, well, I believe I'd rather spend it with you."

I looked at him. "What?"

"I love you, Frodo, I always have, and if you don't love me back, that's all right I suppose, I'll go and marry Rose but--"

I stopped his mouth with my own. He responded with a passion I never knew was in him, pulling me close to him and running one hand through my hair. How long had I wanted this? Years, I suppose, but I would never admit it to myself until now. My poor Sam, he'd loved me this time but never thought it his place to tell me. Now, he was mine and I was his, and nothing could stop us. This was the way it should be.


End file.
